Coming Home

Remember that scrawny kid in high school who got picked on by just about everybody? Even the nerds laughed at him. If you were popular, you may not remember such an insignificant loser. If you were not popular, you might remember paying it forward and giving him a ribbing now and then. Even if you left him alone, you knew better than to befriend that pathetic creature. Like all of us, that loser needs an outlet for his stress. He might listen to industrial rock music or maybe dive into some sort of creative artistry. He might take the unfortunate path to drugs and alcohol. If he is lucky, he may find others who are like him and they can brood together. But…what if he is more than just a weird little scrawny kid? What if he is actually very dangerous and waiting for his chance to viciously turn the tables on anyone who has ever mocked him?

Coming Home is a short film by Shiva Rodriguez. The first part of the story is focused on Crawford, an angry goth kid who was obviously bullied and decides to take out his frustrations on anyone who crosses him.

The parallel story centers on Richard, his wife Sue and son, Jeffrey. The family of amateur detectives tracks a string of murders several states away by a serial killer called the Blood Artist. Police pinned the killings on a local bully but Richard and his crew were not convinced. Fortunately (or unfortunately), their efforts do not go unnoticed buy the killer.

The story of a loser taking revenge on his tormentors is nothing new but that is not what Coming Home is all about. This story is very original. The plot has some solid depth that goes beyond a formulaic “chasing a killer” story.

At times, some of the dialogue may feel a little forced; possibly to help provide additional background information to the audience. This is forgivable considering there is only a 15 minute run time.

There is minimal gore and it is appropriate for the scenes. Nothing gratuitous or unnecessarily over-the-top. For an independent project, the editing and other technical aspects are on par with studio productions.

The producers of the film indicate they want this to be an extended trailer leading to the feature length film, The Family Way (http://www.familywayfilm.com/) and it works as a preview for the bigger story. Coming Home is a solid beginning and worth the limited investment of your time. If nothing else, it might motivate you to be nicer to those weird kids in the goth makeup.